Beating the Heat, pt. 3 - Go indoors!

It's not even hot yet, but it's heating up. Our temps are in the 80s to low 90s right now. I know that by July I'll be used to temps much higher than that, but the initial adjustment phase to coming summer is always hard for me. I'm so much less motivated to get out the door and run when I know it's hot as hell outside.

Yeah, yeah, I know I could get up early and beat the heat, but it's not happening, at least not yet. The siren song of breakfast and coffee are way too strong for this runner.

So here's my Beat the Heat solution #3: Go inside!

Even though the UofAZ has a series of great treadmills, I still prefer the elliptical when I'm working out inside. Yes, being inside a gym is boring, but there are some advantages:

1) free wifi lets me stream Pandora if I want music, and Netflix if I want video. Current fav: Battlestar Galatica.

2) never underestimate the power of air conditioning. especially when it's roasting out doors.

3) no need to wear a hydration belt! Handy locations to stash my water

4) encourages post-cardio XT including strength training and core work. I have a hard time motivating my strength work after a run, but in the gym I can't walk past the free weights and machines w/o giving them some loving too.

Sabino Sunset Run 2012

Saturday Luke and I both ran the Sabino Canyon Sunset Run. The 12K begins at 5:45 and heads straight into a canyon. By the time you hit the turn around and head back, you're greeted with beautiful view of the Arizona sunset. The route has 500 ft elevation - rolling hills in the beginning and then straight up for the last .8-.9 miles until you hit the turn around. The biggest challenges for me last year were dealing with cramping after I hit the turn around and had to run down hill.

This year, I've been running this as a weekly run pretty much all spring. I'm much more comfortable with the hills and now that I know the route, even the long hill doesn't see that long.

The day of the race we had a cold snap and temps in the 60s. Chilly, but a nice respite from the temps in the 80s and 90s, and perfect for running. I ran this much faster than I expected and I credit the cooler temps and no over heating to my faster time. I finished in 1h 14 min. Respectable, considering most of my other runs have dropped down to 10:30-11 minute miles. More importantly, I felt good the whole way. Every hill was fun and I had no cramping or other GI issues. Luke came in w/ a 8:22 average pace - something I'm really, really impressed with.

This is a great local run and just one of the many local runs I've participated in over the past year. Tucson has a really  wonderful running community of all ages and running/walking levels. They have a bunch of small races capped at under 500 people. Once you've been to one, you start seeing a lot of familiar faces. It's nice to be part of such a small and excited community.




Next up on the race calendar is the Cinco de May 10K with a mariachi and breakfast burritos at the finish! I ran this last year and it was a great run through a beautiful neighborhood in Western Tucson. After that, I'll be doing a the Tucson 5,000 5K with my mom on Mother's Day morning. The race is at the park I run around on a daily basis and I'm excited for another (hopefully less dramatic) event with mom.

Keepin' Cool in the Heat Pt. 2

When I said I was embracing the motto "slow is the new fast" I wasnt' kidding. Things are heating up here in Tucson and yesterday Luke and I did a slow 7.something mile run. My average pace? 10:44. Yeah, I encouraged him to take off after the first two miles. Temps were in the high 80s, low 90s. At that temp range, I need to walk every 1.5-2 miles just to cool down.

The other thing that helps keep me cool? My Nathan Hydration belt. I love this thing. I honestly can't imagine running without it anymore. My version has 2 7-oz flasks. I drained them by mile 4, refilled at a water station and drained them again by the finish.

I love how easy is is to adjust the belt and that it's doesn't bounce or flap when I run. I may get some extra clip-on bottles for longer runs where I won't have any water stations. I can load up the front pouch with key, id, tissues, nutrition, and it's all at my fingertips when I need it.



Love the way my back looks in this shot.



Front pouch for easy access to sports beans.

CSP 5 miler - photo!

I think this is my first really attractive race photo. They were also given to all participants free of charge, which I think makes the Tucson Everyone Runs events the best I've ever done.

Don't I look happy and smiley? (this was before I hit the sand...).

Catalina state park 5 miler

This morning I took part in a 5 mile trail race in Northern Tucson. The course is raced clockwise in the spring and then counter clockwise in the fall. With all the stomach problems I've been having I did this just as an easy run rather than a race . It was a beautiful course and I had a lot of fun.

Course: 5.2 on trail, one point had 90-some stairs to climb. Mostly sand and packed trail.

Time: 58 min

Gear: skirt sport speed silk skirt, brooks long sleeve tech tee, Adidas socks, brooks cascadia, Nathan hydration belt, sweaty band, sunglasses

Fuel: 14 oz water (only took 2 swigs due to stomach), uneaten spots beans

Felt: Good! This was a fun run that I will definitely do again. Small and well organized.

Best part: organizers handed out packets of sunblock.

Lesson learned: running in sand give me side stitches.

Slow is the New Fast

The title of this post is stolen from the blog by the same name. Nikki is also a mid-30s runner (but with two kids!) who really embraces her middle-of-the-pack position. As someone else who embraces her middle of the pack position, I find a lot of inspiration and encouragement from runners who are ok with never running faster then 9 minute miles. It's similar to why I'm impressed with the super-fast race finishers, but I"m inspired by the 50, 65, 75 years olds who are still out and still running right there with me (heck, some even pass me!).

After a fantastic fall/winter of getting faster and stronger, my running has taken a turn for the slower. On the whole, my fast run paces have dropped from 8:50 min/mi to 9:21 min/mi, and my slow runs from 9:40 min/mi to 10:21 min/mi. None of my most recent runs have broken the 10 min/mi mark. It's warmer here, but not so much warmer that I should have slowed down by this month.  I'm not sure why the change (ok, I have some ideas but I'm not yet ready to share). So far the biggest changes I've noticed are:

-general feeling that Im more tired, that runs are harder, even at 10:21 min miles
-breathing feels harder, cramping comes on much more frequently

With where I am in my dissertation-related work I'm not in the mental space where I can push muchself. Running needs to be about de-stressing, relaxing, and getting off my butt. So here's my continued goals for keeping at it while also slowing down:

1. Stick to goal of 20 miles a week minimum, it's ok if a few of those are walks, but aim for 4-5 days of running.
2. Keep pace alerts turned off. Just get out and go based on what feels good for my body/mind. Putting in the miles is ultimately more important then doing them faster. Bonus: slower runs = longer exercise sessions.

This week I did a 7.4 mile run on Sunday, 4.5 mile walk on Monday, 50 min elliptical on Tuesday, and a 4.5 mile jog on Wednesday. So far I'm at 16 miles already. I plan to do 4.5-5 miles today and tomorrow and then have my 5 mi race on Saturday morning.